Hutchison camp: “Senator Bailout” nickname “smacks of desperation”

Mark Miner, spokesman for both Gov. Rick Perry’s elected office and campaign, called fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison “Senator Bailout” again, this time in the The Dallas Morning News.

The comment came in a story revealing that the governor’s campaign is looking into Ray Hutchison, the senator’s husband.

“We’re interested, as most Texans would be, in how Senator Bailout’s husband’s bond business has benefited from her job in D.C.,” said Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner, using a nickname the campaign has applied to the senator for her support of the federal government’s initial financial-industry assistance plan.

Miner stood by the nickname today. He also said he separates the government and campaign jobs.

“Any limited political work that I do is on a personal cell phone or a personal laptop,” he said, adding that he also uses compensatory time, not state time, for campaign-related activities.

In response, Hutchison campaign manager Rick Wiley called the nickname “juvenile” and “childish,” especially given Perry’s statements that he’s not focused on a political campaign during the legislative session.

“The shrill tone of the governor, this early in the campaign, just smacks of desperation,” Wiley said.